***
Pachaw, Texas
Emmy Gates smiled as she spotted her sister-in-law, Roxana, who was getting off the bus in front of the post office. Emmy had gone shopping, and while driving back home, she stopped at a traffic light and saw Roxana.
Emmy pulled up beside Roxana and saw the street-smart woman look at her suspiciously until she recognized her. Roxana Gates had reached thirty-five the hard way, while spending nearly a third of those years behind bars for prostitution and drug charges. Her black hair was long, and her lean curves were feminine, but tough.
“Hi, Roxana.”
“Hey there, Emmy, you still married to that no account, Peter?”
“I’m married to him, but sometimes he forgets he’s married to me, but hop in, and I’ll give you a ride to our place.”
“I thought you two lost that house?”
“We did, in a foreclosure, but Peter bought an old trailer home, and we’ve been living on your land.”
“What land?”
“That piece of desert off the old county road. Peter said that his daddy gave it to you and Randy when you married.”
Roxana laughed.
“Honey, here’s a hint for you, if Peter’s lips are moving, he’s lying. That land ain’t mine; it belongs to Peter. His daddy gave it to him when he thought he was going to have a kid of his own years ago.”
“What?”
“That’s right, now let’s see, that would have been his second wife, a real tasty blonde she was. Her name was Velda something or other, no wait, Velma, her name was Velma, and I’ll be damned if Peter didn’t knock her up when she was still a child herself.”
“You say she was a blonde?”
“Yeah, why?”
Emmy took out Peter’s phone and showed Roxana the photos taken by Trace Pruitt in Atlantic City.
Roxana smiled.
“Well now, that’s her all right, and it looks like Peter is getting nostalgic with her, if you know what I mean.”
“Roxana, did Randy tell you where he hid the money before the cops killed him?”
“No, he couldn’t talk to me, the cops were questioning me about the home invasion, besides, that money was either found or got washed down a sinkhole, remember? The cops only found a few thousand.”
“I think Randy buried at least some of that money and told Peter, and I think the money is hidden on that land our trailer sits on. Peter’s been searching it with metal detectors ever since the robbery, which means it’s probably buried in a metal box.”
Roxana sat back in her seat and pursed her lips as she thought that over.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Peter’s searched every bit of that land except for one grid, and with his luck, that’s where the money is, the last place he’d look.”
Emmy held up the phone that showed a photo of Peter and Velma.
“I want to take that money from him and pay him back for cheating on me, but I can’t do it alone, will you help me, and then we can split it fifty-fifty, all right?”
Roxana looked over at her trusting sister-in-law and smiled.
“I’ll help you, and when we find that money, we’ll split it.”
Emmy reached across the seat and hugged her, and Roxana thought she just might cry, if, when all was said and done, the little dumb bitch had to be put down.
***
New York City
Gail kissed Christopher on the cheek and stared into his eyes, as Velma stood nearby and watched.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, Mom, I did what needed to be done in Atlantic City and I don’t regret it.”
Gail sighed.
“Why do the men in this family lead such violent lives?”
“We do it because it’s needed and we’re good at it. I know now that I would have been miserable as a lawyer. That doesn’t mean that I’ll be a P.I. forever, but for now, it’s right for me.”
“You did save lives, and so I’m proud of you, but I’ll never stop worrying about you or your brother.”
“What about Granddad, don’t you worry about him too?”
Gail grinned.
“Your grandfather is too ornery to die, and you might like to know that he and Maggie are now officially an item.”
Velma stepped forward.
“That’s great; I’m happy for both of them.”
“Maggie certainly surprised me when she told me she was interested in him, but then, the old goat always did attract more than his share of women.”
Velma kissed Chris.
“It runs in the family.”
Chris smiled weakly at that, as once again a stab of guilt went through him.
Jake entered the office and Chris and Velma congratulated him on his engagement, and then asked about Kelli.
“She’s good,” Jake said. “Her voice is recovering and the bruises on her throat are fading, but she’ll need time and therapy for her hand. We’ve also postponed the celebration dinner that Granddad planned for us until she’s feeling better.”
“I’m glad it’s been rescheduled since I’ll be out of town this weekend,” Velma said, “but I can’t wait to see Kelli; I know she must be ecstatic about her engagement.”
When Gail and Velma began talking about Kelli’s ring, Chris pulled his brother aside.
“I need to talk to you, but not now, later, and over a beer.”
Jake studied him.
“I know that look, what did you do?”
“Oh no, is it that obvious?”
“Not really, but I am your brother, and if you want to talk about it over a beer it must be serious.”
“Velma is flying home to Texas and I’m dropping her off at the airport this evening, but we could meet afterwards, say, eight o’clock?”
“Fine, but hey, are you okay, Little Brother?”
“I’m good; I just need to talk something out with you.”
“I’ll meet you at eight, at O'Malley's Tavern, okay?”
“Yeah, and thanks.”
Velma walked over.
“Why don’t we go upstairs?”
Jake answered her.
“Let’s wait for Rayne to arrive, she called and said that she should be here any minute.”
“Oh goody,” Velma said.
“You have a problem with Rayne, Velma?” Jake asked.
“No, not as long as she stays away from Chris, and now that she’s dumped her new boyfriend, I think she may have eyes on him again.”
“I see,” Jake said, and then stared at Chris, and suddenly he had an idea what Chris wanted to talk about later.
***
Rayne pulled into the lot of a car dealership in Midtown Manhattan, and headed to the service desk to drop her vehicle off for routine maintenance.
When she was done, she took a short subway ride, and then began walking towards the Caliber building.
As she strolled, she thought about the previous night, and about Chris.
She would have him for herself someday, of that, she was sure, and she was clever enough to go at it incrementally because she was patient. Her ability to be patient, to plan and execute, had always been her greatest strength as an investigator, and would also serve her well in love.
She loved Chris, and had realized just how much she loved him on the day he risked his own life to climb down a mountain and save her from falling to her death. She also knew that Chris loved Velma, but felt that she had a chance with Chris, because on more than one occasion she had caught him watching her.
She smiled as she thought about what happened that morning after Chris awakened. He claimed to be full of guilt over their night of passion, but that guilt didn’t stop him from disrobing her and making love once again.
As she approached the front doors of the Caliber building, she wiped the smile from her face, calmed herself, and put on a serious demeanor. She would keep her promise to Chris and not say a word to Velma, because she had not lied when she said she didn’t want t
o hurt him.
If Chris truly loved Velma, then, he would stay with her, and she would accept that. Rayne had promised herself that she would accept it, but she was betting that their love wouldn’t last, and that Chris would be unable to forget their one night together and come back for more.
She had spoken to Jake and learned that they were gathered together in Gail’s office, and so, she went there first.
***
Rayne stood on her toes and gave Jake a kiss on the cheek.
“Congratulations on your engagement, and how’s Kelli doing?”
“Thanks, and Kelli’s doing good, but why don’t we all get this meeting over with so we can start the weekend early?”
Rayne agreed, turned, and followed Jake, with Chris and Velma following along behind her. Once they were in the elevator, she made a point of standing away from Chris, and never letting her eyes linger on him for too long.
It was tough to pretend disinterest, but she could be patient, and she would be, for after all, it was patience that placed Chris in her bed in the first place, patience, planning, and a little time, and Chris would be all hers.
CHAPTER 6
Pachaw, Texas
Roxana was inside Emmy and Peter’s trailer. She was studying Peter’s map and noted that every grid but one was X’d out.
“Why did he save that area for last?”
Emmy answered her as she handed over a bottle of beer.
“That country back that way is all hilly and full of rocks, boulders really.”
“Maybe Randy hid the strongbox under one of those.”
“Maybe,” Emmy said, “But Peter doesn’t think so, he says that Randy wouldn’t have been able to move them by himself, and they are huge.”
“Where is Peter now?”
“He’s out there somewhere, and he could find that money at any minute, so we have to move fast.”
“I hear you, and I’ve seen enough, take me back to town.”
“Okay, but when will you be back?”
Roxana grinned.
“When I come back for that money, you’ll know it.”
***
New York City
When they stepped off the elevator, Jake introduced Chris, Velma, and Rayne, to Lauren, while explaining that she was his mother’s new assistant and was just filling in for Kelli.
Chris sent her a bright smile, while Velma and Rayne were courteous, but eyed the beautiful young woman with a bit of envy, as Lauren’s looks could be described as exotic.
The four detectives joined the old man in the office, and when the food arrived from Joe’s Deli, everyone ate and talked about their weekend plans.
“I’m going with Kelli tomorrow to visit her mother in the hospital, and then we’ll probably spend the rest of the weekend relaxing,” Jake said. “Kelli’s hand needs time to heal, but she plans to be back here as soon as possible.”
Rayne looked over at Velma, after it was revealed that Velma planned to go home to visit her family in Texas.
“Do you come from a large family, Velma?”
“Not especially, and you?”
“I’m an only child.”
“That’s reassuring,” Velma said.
Rayne then turned her gaze on Chris, and spoke in as nonchalant a manner as she could muster.
“What do you plan to do while Velma’s gone?”
Chris had been about to take a bite from his sandwich, a corned beef on rye, but stopped with the food inches from his mouth.
“I won’t be doing that again, I mean, I won’t be doing anything, and I’ll probably just catch up on my reading.”
“And what about you, Rayne, any plans?” Velma said.
“No, but something will come up. Maybe a friend will drop by and we’ll pick up where we left off.”
Chris coughed as he nearly choked on his food, but after a sip from his bottle of iced tea, he recovered.
Jake watched him for a moment, and then asked his grandfather a question.
“Do you have plans this weekend?”
“I do. Maggie and I are going to see a matinee at the theater tomorrow, a play.”
“Please tell me it’s not a musical,” Jake said.
“It’s not, thank God.”
Velma and Rayne said, “What’s wrong with musicals?” at the same time, and all three men laughed at them.
With the food eaten, they began the usual Friday afternoon meeting.
“It was a great week,” the old man said. “Jakey stopped the B-Girl killer, and Rayne, Chris, Velma, you guys did topnotch work there in Atlantic City. Skeeter and Bones called me this morning and said any of us can eat for free at their steakhouse.”
Velma held up a section of the newspaper.
“Did anyone else notice this? Bart Jansen is marrying his father’s ex-wife, Veronica.”
“Who’s Bart Jansen?” Rayne asked, and Jake explained.
“Victor Jansen was a former client who thought that someone was trying to kill him, and he was right. While working the case, I found out that his young wife, Veronica, was cheating on him with his son, Bart.”
“Tacky, to say the least,” Rayne said, as Velma handed her the newspaper. After looking at the photo, Rayne held it up. “Is that a baby bump I see?”
“Yes,” Velma said, “And I would guess that’s also why they’re marrying.”
“Hey Velma,” Jake said. “You once worked for the Sam Sloan Agency in Vegas, right?”
“Yes, for years, why?”
“I heard through the grapevine that the agency closed.”
“Oh, that’s such a shame, but how did that happen? They were very successful and had been around forever.”
“Sam Sloan’s son, Jackson Sloan, he died after a long illness, and between medical costs and back taxes, things fell apart.”
“What about Sam Sloan Jr., Jackson’s younger brother, is he all right?”
“Word is, he’s the reason the agency failed, I guess he’s got no head for business.”
Velma looked lost amid memories, as she said, “No, Sam was always a free spirit.”
“That’s a real shame,” the old man said. “I believe the original Sam once told me that he started that agency in the 1950’s, and staying afloat ain’t easy. Without Velma, the first Velma, this place would have tanked too, the woman was a whiz with the books, and she kept me on my toes.”
They discussed other news, but soon the old man steered the conversation back to current business, and after a few minutes more, brought the meeting to a close.
“I’ll see you all back here on Monday.”
They said goodbye and filed out of the room and into the outer office, where Lauren greeted them with a smile.
As they rode down in the elevator, Rayne once again made it a point to stand apart from Chris, even as she noticed that Jake was watching her.
She reasoned that Chris must have told his brother about them, and if so, it would be only a matter of time before he confessed to Velma as well.
All the better if he did, Rayne thought, as her confidence in the final outcome was high.
The four of them left the building, and while Chris, Velma, and Jake, headed right, towards the parking garage, Rayne walked off to the left, towards the subway, after having dropped her car off earlier for servicing.
She had wished Velma a good flight to Texas, and she meant it, because she was certain that before the weekend was over that Christopher Caliber would be showing up on her doorstep. Once that happened, she would be sure that he wanted more than her body, and that she had found her way into his heart.
Rayne settled herself upon a seat on the subway and gazed about at all the people, most of whom appeared either bored or weary.
She was neither of those things, for she had hope of love, and on her lips was a secret smile.
CHAPTER 7
Pachaw, Texas
Roxana stepped from the air-conditioned comfort of Emmy’s car and out into the hot desert air.
<
br /> “Thanks for the ride, Emmy.”
Emmy looked past Roxana to the Roadhouse Bar & Grill, where more than a dozen motorcycles sat in the sun.
“Are you sure you want to go in there? That place looks dangerous.”
Roxana smiled.
“It is.”
She checked out the bikes as Emmy rode off and realized that she recognized most of them. That was good, because she had been inside for over a year this time and had wondered if many of the old group would still be around.
She walked up the steps, placed one hand on the door and the other over her closed eyes. She was giving her pupils a chance to dilate, so that she wouldn’t be sun-blind when she entered the dark tavern.
When she was ready, Roxana opened the door and watched every head in the bar turn to look at her.
“Holy shit! It’s Roxie.”
Those words came from a man named Hombre, he was wearing a leather vest over his bare chest and was one of several men dressed that way. They were all members of the same motorcycle gang, Diablo’s Doubles.
Roxana walked over to the bar, smiling, and was soon swigging cold beer from a mug while catching up with the gang.
When it was just her and Hombre left at the bar, Roxana asked a question.
“Is Bronco around?”
“I was wondering when you’d ask,” Hombre said. He was a wide man, although not fat, and he wore his dark hair in a long single braid down his back, while his bushy beard had specks of white.
“I might have something that Bronco would be interested in.”
“How much?”
“It could be half a million, maybe even more than that.”
Hombre nodded.
“Hell, we ain’t seen that kind of money since before the Cartels took over, but what is it, H?”
“No heroin, it’s cash, good old cash.”
Hombre stared at her.
“Bronco’s got a new bitch, some stripper named Sophia, and you really gutted him when you went and married that Gates dude.”
“Is the new bitch bringing him half a million dollars?”
“I get you, but business is one thing, and you and him back together, that’s another.”
Roxana smiled.
“He’ll take me back.”
They drank another round and then squinted against the glare, as the door opened and let in the bright day.
Caliber Detective Agency Box Set 2 Page 18